


Under Precinct Arrest

by MortisBane



Category: Star Wars: Thrawn Series - Timothy Zahn (2017)
Genre: Cop AU, M/M, Prompt Fic, Star Wars Day, may the fourth, star wars day prompt thrawn-athon, thrawn-athon
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2019-05-05
Updated: 2019-05-05
Packaged: 2020-02-26 01:47:33
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 2,331
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18714031
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/MortisBane/pseuds/MortisBane
Summary: This isn’t quite what Eli had signed up for.  He wanted to be a meter maid, or a traffic cop, something small, in a quiet town where people didn’t bother to cause more trouble than loitering.  But, when the foreign detective transferred to the next town over, and decided to inspect the police academy, Eli’s fate was sealed.  He caught sight of Eli during a training drill, supposedly looked up his exam scores and decided Eli’s life wasn’t hard enough.Star Wars Day prompt fill - Happy Star Wars Day





	Under Precinct Arrest

This isn’t quite what Eli had signed up for.  He wanted to be a meter maid, or a traffic cop, something small, in a quiet town where people didn’t bother to cause more trouble than loitering.  But, when the foreign detective transferred to the next town over, and decided to inspect the police academy, Eli’s fate was sealed. He caught sight of Eli during a training drill, supposedly looked up his exam scores and decided Eli’s life wasn’t hard enough.

Upon graduation, after getting all his certifications to go on and slip away to a quiet post in some nowhere town, the same foreign detective swooped upon him like a vampire upon its prey.  Pulling him from the ceremony, from his excitedly awaiting parents, and handed him a simple sealed envelope. He spared few words, just his name, which was such a mouthful Eli’s brain nearly fried on the spot, a hand shake, and a promise that they’d be seeing eachother again soon.  The man was barely away before Eli hurriedly tore open the envelope, desperate to see what the impressive, and admittedly handsome, detective could possibly have to give Eli, a lowly graduate.

He wasn’t happy.

Neither were his parents.

The man had, apparently, bypassed all usual protocols and had gone ahead and assigned Eli as his partner, and stationed him alongside the man at the Coruscant City Police Department.  Which was large, full of crime, and far too loud for Eli’s comfort. He was a simple man, he wanted a quiet job, in a quiet town, to protect innocent, not chase down murderers on a daily basis.

He put up as much of a fight as he could.  Contacting the precinct Commissioner, Palpatine, or rather one of his secretaries, the head of the academy, and called any number he could find who might know how to get a hold of this mystery detective, because the prick hadn’t bothered leaving  _ any _ contact information behind, of course.  It was all for nothing in the end. The Commissioner, had refused to release him after already signing him onto the police force, and no one seemed to know anything about this recently transferred in detective, let alone how to find him.

Thrawn.  The name the man had given after seeing Eli’s discomfort at his full name.  He was currently, Eli’s most despised enemy. What gave him the right to come into Eli’s life, jumble up all his plans, and situate him neatly in what would most likely be the most dangerous post he could have possibly gotten.

He stewed the three weeks before his first day of work, refusing to allow himself to become complacent with the turn of events.  And, completely intent on marching right up to that angular face and demanding whatever strings he pulled to get Eli as his partner, to pull them again and set things right.  Hopefully, he was back on track before being fatally shot while on the job. Looking again at the crime rate made that hope dwindle.

When the day finally came to report to his new precinct, his mother had actually nearly cried, and if that wasn’t enough to set a fire in Eli’s soul, nothing would.  He was going to give this Thrawn the harshest lickin’ he’d ever received. So hard that his mother would be taking notes. Thrawn should be glad he wouldn’t have to stare down Eli’s mother when she got on the warpath.

The commute was Hell.  The city, was Hell. The streets, Hell.  Just everything was Hell. Every street he passed, he couldn’t help but envision the drug deals, the muggings, the murders that could have occurred at any corner.  He’d never even been to a city much larger than his hometown, which was barely above the population level of a village. And here he was, in one of the largest cities in the nation, and he was tasked with patrolling.

The bigger the buildings grew, the more daunting the task before him felt.  And as the cab pulled up in front of the precinct, it felt something like a nail being driven into his coffin.  He tipped the driver, rates far higher than it should have been, and stepped out, gazing up at the large structure.  His uniform suddenly felt too stiff and uncomfortable, like he shouldn’t be wearing it, and the first time since joining the police academy, he felt doubtful.

Slowly, taking each step as if he were tied down by fifty pound weights, he entered the building, and was hit by the cluttered business of it all.  All manner of people were bustling around, officers, civilians, press, in a cluttered mess running around, shouting over one another, only getting louder and louder as he watched.  He didn’t know where to go, what to do. Thankfully there were secretaries that might point him in the right direction. He approached one, showing her his badge, and without a word the woman waved him to the side, towards some doors.

He wasn’t going to argue when the cluster of people were situated on the other side of the desk.  He swung around, passing through the doors, nervously tugging at the collar of his uniform and taking in the precinct.  The Bullpen seemed rather typical from what he’d expect, if still three times larger than he would have preferred. Most desks seemed occupied by one or more officer, and a few civilians, it reminded him of a crowded stock exchange room during a market crash.  It was pure chaos.

He really hoped it wasn’t always like this.

His main issue-he had no idea where to go.  He couldn’t see anyone he could recognize, like the Commissioner, chief of police, even a captain.  And absolutely no one spared him a passing glance as they rushed around shouting about something. Nowhere to go, no one he knew, and completely ignored, yeah, that’s how he thought this arrangement would go.

With a sigh, shoulders slumped, Eli tried weaving his way around, hoping to find a break room or supply closet to hold out in until his apparent partner decided to show himself.  Thankfully no one seemed to care as he slithered around and in between them all, something really was distracting them all, something seemingly important. Or maybe this was just how big city police departments were, plenty of criminals that needed hunted down.

He made it along the first wall perimeter, making it to the other doors for more public or civilian travel, that lead to the main lobby, and got a good look at what all the people were huddling around.  Civilians, and mostly journalists, all in a semicircle, attention directed at one thing, or rather, one person. And Eli’s eyes narrowed.

Thrawn.

That flame from earlier burst to life once again, like a roaring wildfire, putting a sharp spark in his motivation.  Without a second thought, not a moment's hesitation, he wheeled around, charging for the turned back of who had decided to take Eli’s career into his own hands.  He was distracted by the people, but Eli couldn’t care less now, like tunnel vision, he could only see the broad shoulders and slicked back hair of a police detective who wore a full suit to work.

Thrawn was taller than him, Eli noted once pausing behind the man.  Not that it would deter him. He’s seen his mother make six foot nine men tuck tail and run when she was sparked into a fury.  Eli could take one pompous detective who thought he was all high and mighty.

“Detective Thrawn.”  He sneered, straightening his back, puffing out his chest and angling up his chin.  The man turned slowly, his eyes roaming over Eli’s form, but only half turning to meet him.

“Yes, Officer Vanto.  Impeccable timing, I was just-”  He had started but Eli wasn’t going to give him the chance to coral Eli away, to order him around before he got his rant out.

“You think you can just up and take me and my life and throw me around like I’m some sort of resource to be allocated?  I had everything planned out perfectly, but you decided to take my career and upend it like this! Throw me into the fire after pluckin’ me from the water!  I want you to listen and listen good! Whatever you did to put me here, I want you to undo it, because you have no right to force me to join this precinct, in a city larger than I’ve ever even seen, to watch me flounder about like the small town country hick you must think I am.  Go on and explain to me why you thought it such a good idea to steal away some newly graduated police officer and set him up for failure. Well, go on, why have you done this to me?!”

He hadn’t meant for his accent to come through so thick, it was just something that happened when he got worked up.  Which went against the sort of image that he’d want to portray, the overemotional country boy overwhelmed by the big city, but it was too late now.  Seemingly his rant silenced the crowd around Thrawn, and the man himself had turned around to fully face Eli. He wasn’t backing down, keeping his head high, he waited for Thrawn’s answer.  He didn’t look surprised, or perturbed, or even mildly bothered. Just blankly watched Eli, his hands clasped behind his back.

“Officer Vanto, I chose you to join me in this department because you have deduction and observational skills I’ve not seen in anyone since myself.  Sending you away to a small town would have been a waste and a disservice to the people you swear to protect. I need you here because you have an ability that must be cultivated to benefit society.  I apologize for the harsh manner in which you’ve been moved, however, this is the best method for you to reach your full potential. For a lack of better descriptors, you are special Eli Vanto, and I do not waste talent.”

Eli’s jaw dropped.  Of all the things he expected, that he thought Thrawn would have said, calling Eli skilled and special were none them.  It genuinely shocked him silent. No one had ever talked about him in such a way before. He’d had plenty of people say he was awfully good with mathematics, a wizard with organization, and his mother had called him special, but so did everyone’s mother.  No one had ever said they had a skill so great that not utilizing it would be a disservice to society.

“Everyone, I would like to introduce my partner on this case, Officer Vanto.”  The crowd around Thrawn erupted in shouts again, flashes from cameras and the pressing of cameras closer to the pair.  Only then did he realize, his entire rant was just recorded by several different media teams, and the likelihood of him being able to pretend it didn't happen went out the window.

“Officer Vanto, how long have you known Detective Thrawn?!”

“Officer Vanto, have you had experiences dealing with criminals of this caliber?!”

“Officer Vanto, are you able to find a serial killer such as Nightswan?!”

“Officer Vanto, what other murder cases have you worked on in the past?!”

“What?!”  Eli gasped, as all the reporters began slinging question after question at him.  Though the last two stuck out in his mind the most. He turned to Thrawn, eyes wide.  “Serial killer?! Murder, what?”

Thrawn turned to him, a dark look passing across his face, a certain determination lighting up his eyes.  In this light, Eli would have sworn on his life that they were glowing.

“Nightswan, the coined name of a string of murders that have been committed over the span of the past three months, a total body count of five.  I have been brought in from my country to lead the task force to investigate this case, and you are now a part of said task force.”

The crowd erupted once again, but Eli couldn’t hear a single question.  Almost like white noise, a ringing in his ear. Serial killer, murders, Eli wasn’t cut out to solve a murder case.  He graduated a few weeks ago, has no record, no arrests, he’s been inside this department for all of ten minutes, he can’t take down a serial killer!

A hand fell on his shoulder, jostling his thoughts, grounding him back in the world so that all the noise came rushing back.  He flinched, following the hand, up the arm and found Thrawn on the other end of it, giving him a curious stare. Eli opened his mouth to protest, to demand he be removed, that he’d only hold them back, but Thrawn beat him to it.

“You can do this Eli.  I know you can.” In that moment, despite all the shouting, the questions the bustling around them, all Eli could hear was Thrawn’s smooth voice.  And he almost felt he had to believe him. Pushing down his reservations, Eli composed himself, and stood stiffly at Thrawn’s side, ignoring the bombardment of questions he didn’t know the answer to, and watched Thrawn effortlessly tackle each and every thrown question.

Eli’s anxieties were still alight, his rage while simmered was still there, and the unfairness of the situation was still very prevalent.  But playing back Thrawn’s words in his head, the hopelessness of the situation nearly dissolved. What Thrawn was dragging him into was an uphill climb, and would be extremely difficult, but when they came out on the other side, Eli would either be the youngest and most successful Officer to date, or he’d come out a failure and be able to easily leave back to a calmer post in a small town like how he wanted.  If Thrawn believed he could do it, then Eli was going to give it his all, and take the outcome as whatever it may be.

**Author's Note:**

> Happy Star Wars Day! In the Discord chat we all came together and exchanged Thranto prompts for Star Wars Day and here's mine, Cop AU! "cop au, Thrawn is a newly arrived detective, Eli is his new partner", hope you enjoyed, might continue if I have time to write a second chapter, but for now this is complete!
> 
> Stay Wizard  
> ~[Mortis](https://mortisbane.tumblr.com/)


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